Meta Tells Canada: No News for You! (does this law affect Lemmy instances in Canada??)

Read the bill and while not a lawyer, it's pretty clearly targeted at big corporations; two specific bits which likely make it non-applicable:

• (a) applies in respect of a digital news intermediary if, having regard to specific factors, there is a significant bargaining power imbalance between its operator and news businesses
• (d) requires the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (the “Commission”) to maintain a list of digital news intermediaries in respect of which the enactment applies;

Lemmy instances don't have a bargaining power imbalance (or, really, ANY power to bargain at all), and the CRTC would have to list you as a 'news intermediary' for it to apply.

Does this only affect if you are profiting off of those links (like selling ads etc.)?

If yes, I my opinion it should be OK for lemmy as lemmy instances doesn't make profit ex. selling ads.